Whenever the Wildcats face Florida it’s a big game. Cat fans dislike Gator fans and Gator fans dislike Cat fans; it’s obviously mutual. Tonight, John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats are in Gainesville to face Billy Donovan’s Gators for today’s College Gameday event. That makes the game just a little bit bigger. It’s in prime time which raises the stakes. And most importantly, it’s a road game and that makes Cat fans nervous.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Tonight, it has to be the upperclassmen that make the difference. Todd Kirby previously pointed out that it’s not the freshman who under perform on the road, [URL=”http://www.nationofblue.com/road-games-s-not-freshmen-5060/”]it’s the veterans[/URL].
[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD]Player
[/TD]
[TD]Home
[/TD]
[TD]Road
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Miller
[/TD]
[TD]13
[/TD]
[TD]10
[/TD]
[TD][SIZE=1]*this is skewed by his 18 pt. game at SC, which UK won, otherwise his average is 7.3 on the road[/SIZE]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Liggins
[/TD]
[TD]10
[/TD]
[TD]4.3
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Harrellson
[/TD]
[TD]4.7
[/TD]
[TD]2.8
[/TD]
[TD][SIZE=1]*Harrellson has scored more than 4 points only once in SEC play, 8 vs. Auburn[/SIZE]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
These guys have to do more tonight. Miller needs to be felt in the post by sinking an early three. Draining an outside shot will open up the inside game for him where he can make a difference.
Liggins has to be tougher on defense to help shut down Florida. I don’t think he needs to look for a shot on the offensive end. If he is playing defense, that will turn into some offense for him and help him get 10 points.
My outlook for Harrellson is to grab 5 offensive boards and 12 total boards. The Cats will go through a cold streak despite their ability to shot the ball and when that cold streak comes, Josh can do his part by providing second opportunities.
It’s a big time game and one that will give a lot of confidence early in February. It’s tonight at 9:00pm and we hope you’ll join us here on Nation of Blue to watch the game and root together during the live chat. See you then!
